Sega Master, Game Gear games coming to Wii

There’s nothing you can do about your Game Gear TV tuner, which will be rendered useless in the digital conversion of television in February 2009, but you will soon be able to relive the classic color handheld games and original 8-bit Sega Master titles on Nintendo Wii’s virtual console.

The Nintendo Wii Fanboys report the first two games will be Fist of the North Star for 600 points and Fantasy Zone for 500 points. The 100 point fluctuation is due to licensing costs.

So why Master and Game Gear at the same time? After all, Game Gear will become the first handheld console represented on the Wii — before Gameboy or DS. Sega Master and Game Gear used similar hardware, and it’s easy to do both at once.

This move isn’t a huge surprise considering all the Sega Genesis titles available on Virtual Console, but it’s welcome news for those that want to experience vintage Outrun, Shinobi and Alex Kidd.

The games are coming to Japanese Wii’s next month. No American release dates have been announced, but we’re waiting with bated breath.